Ship and Crew

2018-12-07

Rylan was becoming very familiar with all of his counselor’s staff as often as he had been visiting Desmond. So when Rylan caught sight of Desmond’s secretary, he waived at the slight and sociable woman, “Hello Ciara, is Desmond free?”

“He is Rylan, and I’ll check to see if he’s ready for you.”

“Thank you,” Rylan said as he took one of the open chairs in front of the secretary’s desk.

Ciara shifted her gaze to the small device next to her main display, and typed something on it and waited. After waiting patiently for another few moments, she must have gotten a response because she looked back over at Rylan saying, “He’s ready to see you now Rylan.“

“Thanks again Ciara,” Rylan said as he entered his counselor’s office. When he closed the door, Rylan looked over at Desmond and greeted the only man on the planet that has routinely been helping him. “Good afternoon, Desmond. How are you doing today?”

“Good afternoon Rylan, please sit down.” Desmond waited until Rylan sat down before venturing a guess as to what brought the technician to seek the counselor out today. “But let me guess you want to know if I’ve had any luck trying to get you included on the crew to investigate Laria.”

“I’m understandably eager to find out if you’ve managed to do it.”

Shaking his head Desmond looked his client in the eye declaring, “Rylan, you do remember that I told you that I couldn’t guarantee you a place on the crew.”

“But you did say that I should be able to join the crew.”

Desmond looked down at his desk and sighed but before Rylan could say anything else the counselor raised a hand silencing his client. “Rylan, I said I would think that the crew would want to bring you along since no one else on the planet is certified to work on the platforms. And it makes sense to bring someone to Laria who could turn help reestablish a connection to the platform network so it can be done as soon as possible.”

“But what makes sense isn’t always what happens,” Rylan concluded depression hugging his features as tightly as possible.

“Unfortunately not, Rylan.”

Rylan chewed his lower lip for a moment before he looked deeply into Desmond’s eyes. “Is there someone who won’t slam the door in my face that I could talk to to get my name on the mission?”

Tapping his desk, Desmond thought about the question for a few moments. Then with his other hand, he snapped his fingers as he gave his answer, “There actually might be someone who could help you get onto the mission.”

“Who?”

“Aidan, she might be able to get you onto the mission.”

Rylan cocked his head for a moment as his eyebrows popped for a moment, “Wasnt she the person who was opposed to this investigation?”

With a solitary nod, Desmond replied, “She is part of a larger movement for isolation.”

“That movement popped up quickly.”

“No Rylan, this movement has been growing for the past five years or so,” Desmond replied as he pulled a small digital pad from his desk. “But her party is secretly hoping that the platforms are beyond repair which would allow them to isolate us from the rest of the Federation.”

“That can’t be a popular movement!” Rylan exclaimed as his eyes went wide with shock.

Desmond shrugged his shoulders as he copied some information to the small pad before handing it over to his client. “It’s a growing movement, but it’s still not large enough to make policies. Anyways here is her work address, use the pad to get directions to her home.”

“Thank you for all the help Desmond,” Rylan said as he left the office. He quickly bid farewell to Ciara as he left the building. He worked his way through the sprawling city as he worked his way to Aidan’s office. When he got there, he was actually welcomed into the building and immediately put in front of Aidan.

“Good morning Rylan. How are you doing today?”

“I’m good, how about yourself?”

“Thank you for asking, Rylan,” Aidan answered as she looked into his eyes. “However I’m sure you want to get your name listed on the mission to Laria.”

“I would, how many slots have been taken?” Rylan asked with a hint of desperation behind his words.

“They’ve all been taken, Rylan,” Aidan said as she relaxed back into her chair. The technician’s expression fell with those words, and he was on the verge of getting up when she pressed on. “Thank you for coming to me, it saves us from having to find you.”

Shaking his head, a little Rylan asked, “Why would you be looking for me?”

“Because you are going to be present on the mission to Laria, Rylan. The ship’s construction is underway, and the crew needs to start their training, which includes you.”

“Really?” Rylan asked as the depression began to melt off of his face.

“Yes, Rylan you will be returning to Laria,” Aidan answered, and Rylan caught the small look of calculation behind her eyes. And he knew she had her own motivations for arranging the investigation of Laria, yet Rylan couldn’t help caring he was going to go back to Laria, and the smile widened across his face.